Keyboard musical instrument



Sept. 27, 1927. 1,643,562

S. KUCHARSKI KEYBOARD MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed April 1. 1925 2heets-Sheet 1 Sept. 27, 1927. ,5 2

5. KUCHARSKI KEYBOARD MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed April 1, 1925 2 hts-Sheet 2 O O o J w Patented Sept. 27, 1927.

UNITED" STATES STANISLAUS KUCHARSKI, OF BERLIN, GERMANY.

KEYBOARD MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

Application filed April 1, 1925, Serial No.

This invention relates to a player device which can be attached toexisting keyboard instruments, which owing to the special constructionis more particularlysuitable for manipulation by untrained lovers ofmusic and chiefly constitutes-a device for playing keyboard instrumentsaccordingto individual feeling without any practice and knowledge ofmusic, by simple means, owing to the possibility of controlling the timeand the strength of sound. I i 1' This is attained chiefly by aspecially advantageous construction of sucha kind that, by depressingone or only a few keys by hand, on the one hand a music roll is advancedstep by step, and on the other hand a pressure is exercised by means ofauxiliary lingers on the keys to be played at the time, the said keysbeing switched in 'by' a relay controlled-by the music roll.

A construction of a player device according to the inventionis'diagrannnatically illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

Fig. 1 shows the player device in front elevation, as placed uponthekeys of a piano, the front covers of the casing being removed,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows the music strip.

Fig. {l is an enlarged detail.

According to this invention, a music strip (Fig. 3) is employed, whichmay be a thin band ofcelluloid, metal, paper or the like about 35 mm,wide, and is similar to a motion picture film or the like in havingperforations 18 at its edges, which is employed to obtain the selectionof the various keys to be depressed. Owing to the small size of thisfilm, the whole player device may be built verynarrow and easilyattachable to the key-board of the instrument to be played. l

A number of perforations 19 are formed in the music strip 8, and arearranged by groups of four rows in succession between each twosuccessive perforations 18 nthat is, in the passage of the music stripthrough the device, four rows are presented beneath the selectingdevices, and according to the perforations in these rows, the respectivekeys are prepared for actuation. Thenumher of columns along the width ofthe strip may be determined at will according to the exact width of thestrip and the size of the apertures, andaccording to the number I online 2-2 19,932, and in Germany March 29, 1924.

of keysfwhich it is desired to control by the player device. Since thereare four rows of keys, and in the present instance 22 columns, anynumber of keys up to 88' may be actuated at one and the same time orselectivelyyas desired, singly or in chords according to the aperturesarranged on the music strip 8 The player device itself comprises acabinet 1 having a top, front and rear walls, and a hood 27 arranged onits top. This hood has a hinged cover 29 which carries the contact block20 having a plurality of contact pins 20 seated fixedly therein, and innumber equal to the number of keys to be played; These contact pins 20are arranged in four rows at distances apart corresponding to thedistances between the rows of apertures 19 on the music strip 8. It willbe understoodthat these pins 20 are in electric contact with each otherand are connected to a suitable source of electricity by the conductor100. Each of these pins 20 is of substantially larger diameter than thethickness of the music strip, and has a spherical end, and is inclinedboth 1ongitudinally and laterallywith respect to the direction ofmovement of the strip; and'as the strip moves between the blockscarrying theupins and the respective conductors 31. these pins revolveabout their axes and ride over the edges of the perforations so that thestrip continues in its movement (enlarged view of 4).

In the upper portion of the hood 27 is arranged a supporting table 30 ofinsulating material through which passes a number of conductors 31 equalto the number of keys to be played. These conductors are arranged infour rows, and in such manner thateach conductor is presented exactlyopposite one of the pins 20 with which it cooperates in the manner to bedescribed hereinafter: they havea resiliency in their support so thatwhen an aperture is presented between a pin and its respectiveconductor, these move into conductive relation; and when the stripmaterial comes between them, they are forced apart, and the respectivecircuit is broken. 1

Likewise mounted in the hood 27 are the rolls 8 and 8 which carry themusic strip 8. The music strip 8 passes from roll 8 over the top of thesupporting table 30, and between the contact pins 20 andthe conductors31', and into the space inside the spring 32, and is wound up upon theroll 8 in any suitable manner as by a'spring device represented at 83.This movement occurs step by step by means of the. gripper 9 whichengages successively in the apertures 18 at the edge of the music strip8.

Each of the conductors 31 is connected to an individual electromagnet 26as by the lead wire 102 in Fig. 2. These electromagnets are horizontallypositioned within the casing 1 at a point substantially vertically above'the' key 5 which corresponds thereto. From this electromagnet thecircuit is com pleted back to the other. pole of the source ofelectricity through a conductor 101. Fastened to the lower side of therear wall of the casing 1 as by the posts 42 are a plurality of springs-11 which project forwrzirdly and carry attheir forward ends the bars13. Similar fingers and springs are provided for the black keys, at aproper elevation above those described. The key fingers 4 are providedat their lower ends with the striking knobs 4 of felt or similarmaterial. and are supported at the outer or front ends of the bars 13 asby curling the end of the respective key finger 1 and gluing a strip offelt to the external surface in well known manner. Each of the fingers4- is positioned opposite its r spective electromagnet 26, there beingas many fingers as there are electromagnets and hence as there are keysto be played, which in turn is determined by the number of possibleperforations contained within the four rows on the music roll 8.

Pivotally mounted within the casing 1 are the striking ledges 3 and 3",which are similar in all respects, and are arranged end o end with asmall gap 13 therebetween. It will be understood that more than two suchstriking ledges may be employed if desired; and that the purpose of thedivision between the ledges is to enable the fingers 1 to be depressedwith differing forces at ditferingparts of the keyboard. Each of thesestriking ledges 3 3 is provided at its front end with a retaining flange3 (Fig. 2).

In order to depress the respective striking ledges 3* a d 3* areprovided the auxiliary keys '2 which are mounted upon key bars 2 pivotedwithin the casing 1. Since the construction of these auxiliary keys andkey bars is identical, only one has been represented in the figures.When the respective auxiliary key 2 is depressed, its key bar 2 duringits downward movement comes into contact with the respective strikingledge 3 or 3 and forces the latter downward. As shown in Fig. 2, the keybar 2 is pivoted in the mechanism at 2 and has a connection 12 (Fig. 1)at the free end of the striking ledge 3", so that as the key 2 isdepressed, the bar 2 will act upon the ledge 3 and net have been drawninto the dotted line position shown in Fig. 2 or have been left in thefull line position. As the ledge 3 in Fig. 2 moves downward itencounters the fingers 4 which have been moved'into the dotted lineposition and drives them forcibly downward through depressing therespective piano keys 5. On the other hand, the unconnected fingers 4 asshown in full line in Fig. 2 remain unmoved during the depression of theauxiliary key 2.

'When the auxiliary key 2 is released, itis returned, together with theoperative striking ledge 3 or 3 by a recoil spring a.

' In order to advance the music strip by a proper distance, theauxiliary key 2 is provided with means to actuate the gripper 9 at eachsuccessive depression. The key 2 for this purpose has a gripping loop 2The ledge 3 has an upstanding pin 12 with an enlarged head 12. A gripperlever 7 is pivoted upon the casing and hood at 10 and is pivotallyconnected at 16 to the gripper 9. The free end of the other end of thegripper lever 7 is fastened to a spring 11 which is presented beneaththe head 12 and secured on the casing 1.

The gripperlever 7 swings about its fulcrum 10 upon the operation of theledge 53*, to cause the gripper 9 to engage and ad Vance the music strip8by a stepwise movement which is of constant amount for each oscillationof the lever 7 and is independent ofthe movement of the ledge 3 Sincethe downward movement of the ledge 3 may be of different amount fordifferent instruments, according to the distance necessary to bring thestriking fingers 4 into contact with the respective keys 5 and depressthe latter, a stop 17 is provided to positively limit the amount ofmovement of the gripper lever 7, and a resilient connection 11, 12isprovided to take up the remaining or differential movement of theledge 3*. As the ledge is depressed, the member 12 en- "counters thespring 11 and at first rocks the lever 7 upon which the spring 11 ismounted in a clockwise direction until the lever 7 encounters the stop17; thereafter the member 12 merely bends the spring 11 downward more orless until the ledge has completed its movement. The spring 11 uponrelease of the ledge serves to assist the'return of the latter and themember 12 to the normal position. The gripper 9 is pivoted to the end oflever'7 upon a pin 16, and has a hook at its free end to engage in theequally spaced perforations 18 of the music roll. Each time the lever 7moves clockwise in Figure '1 as described above, the band 8 is advanceda single step of predet'er mined and equal amount, and as the lever 7returns in a counter clockwise movement, the inclined end of the hook ongripper 9 causes it to leave the aperture 18 last engaged and moveintooperative relation with the succeeding aperture 18.

1 By striking either of the keys 2, the respective striking ledges 3 and3 are actuated and cause the selected fingers 4 to depress theircorresponding keys 5. By striking one of the keys 2 difierently from theother key, the player is enabled to control the relative loudness of themelody or accompaniment. The right hand ledge strikes the keys for thehigh tones and that at the left, 3, strikes the keys for the low tones.This insures that the player is able to bring out the melody or theaccompaniment more strongly at his. option: by striking the right handauxiliary key in one instance and that at the left in the other. It willbe noted that the plurality of striking ledges 3 and 3" are respectivelypositioned above divisions of the register of the keyboard, so that thebass and treble notes may be struck difi'erently: the melody beingbrought out by the treble notes and the accompaniment by the bass notes.

In order to introduce a music strip 8 into the apparatus, the cover 29is raised and the music strip Wound on the roll 8 is placed in position;the outer end of the strip is brought over the supporting table 30 andthe gripper 9, and engaged with the take-up roll 8 in anysuitablemanner: it will be understood that thetake-up roll 8 is caused to rotatein any well known way. The cover 29 is now replaced so that the musicstrip is visible through the window 28.

The player device is generally placed on only aportion of the keyboard,for e'xample over 70 keys, and the remaining keys remain without beingplayed. In order to secure a correct setting of the player device on thekeyboard of the piano, the strip ledges 39 and 40 are provided at thelower side of the casing 1. The ledges 40 are fixed to the casing toproject behind the nonplayed keys, to prevent the movement of the deviceforwardly or rearwardly, while the ledges 39 are situated between theblack keys of the instrument and serve to determine the position of thedevice against a movement to the right or left on the piano.

Vhen the respective finger keys 5 have been actuate d in the mannerabove described, and the music strip has been moved to a new position inwhich a particular key is not to be actuated the circuit through therespec-.

tive magnet 26 is interrupted by the presence of the thickness of themusic strip between the respective contact pin 20 and the conductor 31,and hence the deenergized electro-magnet 26 will release its. finger 4which moves under the action of the spring and bar 41, 43 from theposition shown in dotted lines to the position shown in full lines.Other electromagnets 26 may at this same time be actuated to bring theirrespective fingers 4 into the range of action of the striking ledges 3,3, according to the perforations 1 i It will be understood that at eachdepression of the striking key or auxiliary key 2, the music roll isadvanced simultaneously with the downward movement of the respectivestriking ledge 3 3 the ledge engages the actuating fingers 4 andcauses'the playing of the piano. At the same time, the music strip hasbeen moved and the magnets 26 are energized so as to attract the properfingers '4 for the next chord or note to be struck: these fingers aredrawn against the edge flange 301? the respective striking ledge, andare not actuated at the lVhen the key 2 is permitted to restroke. turn,however, the deenergized magnets 26 permit their fingers 4 to fiy back,while the energized magnets 26 give a further movement to theirrespective fingers 4 so that the latter move into operative relationwith regard to the respective ledges 3 3 In this way, each noteor chordis set up while the preceding note or chord is being played.

As shown in 3, the perforations 19 corresponding tothe several pins 20and the respective conductors 31 are prepared in such relationship toeach other that the perforations for the outer right hand row of pins inFig. 1 for one note may lie between the positions of the perforationsfor other rows for other notes,-and an overlap of the perforationsoccurs. in other words, the distance of advancement by the pawl 9 isless than the longitudinal extension oi the several rows of pins 20 withrespect to the music strip: and this advancement occurs. by such anincidental fraction of this extension that as the music strip comes-to astandstill following each advancement, different transverse lines ofapertures are presented to the respective pins. If during the travelingmovement of the strip, any pin should encounter an aperture at which itwill not remain when the movement of the strip is completed an actuationof the corresponding finger will occur, but since the ledges 3 3 havebeen depressed, the respective fingers 4 thus energized will strike theedge off the respective ledge, and be held there temporarily by therespective electromagnet: and during the further movement of the musicstrip, the circuit will be broken so that the respective finger 4 willbe permitted to fiy back prior to the raising of the ledge 53*. By thisarrangement of overlapping perforations, it is possible to have the rowsof pins 20separated a sufiicient distance longitudinally of the musicstrip as requiredby'mechanical considerations: and yet keep the lengthof the music strip for a given selection at a minimum.

It is obvious that the invention is not limited to the specific formshown and described, but that it may be modified within the scope of theappending claims.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentis 1. A player device for key-instruments comp ising a frame, .aplurality of striking fingers fulcrumed on said frame and disposed aboverespective keys, each of said fingers having a movable iron element, arespective electromagnet fixed to said frame to move said element, meansto selectively energize the electromagnets according to the notes to bestruck and an actuating member to depress the selected fingers.

2. A player device for key instruments comprising a plurality 0tstriking fingers disposed above respective keys, each of said fingers hving a stem, a respective resilient support for each of said stems andfingers to permit the same to move bodily downward and to rock back andforth from front to rear with a normal bias into the front position, anactuating member to depress all fin gers and stems which have beenrocked to the rear and devices to rock selected stems,

to the rear said actuating member including means to hold non-selectedstems from moving to the rear until said member disengages the selectedfingers upon return from depressed position.

3. A player device for key instruments comprising a plurality ofstriking fingers disposed above respective keys, means to select saidfingers controlled by a music roll and including an individual devicefor each finger to move the finger to an operative position whenselected, means to depress the disposed above respective keys, means toselect said fingers controlled by a music roll and including anindividual. device for each finger to move the finger to an operativeposition when selected, means to depress the selectively moved fingersto strike the cor-' responding keys and mechanism moved by saiddepressing means to advance saidroll for selection of the fingers forone note or chord during the striking of the preceding note or chord,said depressing means including devices to hold the nonselected fingersfrom movement into position for depression until said depressing meansreleases the selected fingers of said one note or chord.

5. A player device for key instruments comprising a plurality ofstriking fingers disposed above respective keys, means to select saidfingers controlled by a music roll and including an individual devicefor each finger to move the finger to an operative positi-onwhenselected, means to depress the selectively moved fingers to strike thecorresponding keys and mechanism moved by said depressing means toadvance said roll for selection of the fingers for one note or chordduring the striking of the preceding note or chord, the whole registerof the keyboard being divided into a plurality of parts, and saiddepressing means being provided with separate depressing devicesfor'each division of the register.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

STANISLAUS KUCHARSKI.

